The Babri Masjid was built after demolishing a Ram temple at the disputed site in Ayodhya and Hindus kept worshipping there without giving up its possession, a Hindu litigant Thursday told the Supreme Court, while seeking enforcement of right to worship there.
Devotee Gopal Singh Visharad, who filed the lawsuit in the lower court in 1950 seeking right to pray, died in 1986 and is now represented by his son Rajendra Singh.
The five judge Constitution bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi heard the arguments on the 10th day in the decades-old politically sensitive land dispute.
“The mosque was built after demolishing the temple, and despite that Hindus continued worshipping there and did not give up possession...Moreover, Muslims were never in possession of the site,” senior advocate Ranjit Kumar told the bench which also comprised Justices SA Bobde, DY Chandrachud, Ashok Bhushan and SA Nazeer.
“I am making my submissions with reference to Parasaran’s and Vaidyanathan’s submissions (both lawyers represented the deity) that the place is itself a divine site and that I being the worshipper, my right to worship, which is a civil right, should not be curtailed,” he said.
Referring to records, the senior lawyer said magistrate Markandey Singh on December 29, 1949 had initiated proceedings to attach the disputed structure under the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) following communal disturbances.
The magistrate had sought responses from Hindu and Muslim parties in support of their claim and counter claim over the property.
Twenty affidavits were filed in 1950 by persons from both sides before the magistrate and they are also part of the judicial records of the Allahabad High Court.
“Filing affidavits, per se, is not enough to prove them. The deponents will have to appear to prove them... No court can say that the facts of these affidavits are proved,” the bench said.
These affidavits were filed in 1950 and the trial on lawsuits took place “much much later”, the lawyer said.
The high court did not accept the affidavits saying that the deponents were not available for cross examination, he said, adding that they are part of the judicial records and be accepted by the apex court as the magistrate had verified the statements and identity of the deponents (makers of the affidavits).